There isn't a more iconic livery in the history of motorsport than the powder blue and bright orange found on the cars used by Gulf Oil-sponsored racing teams. While the colors and branding have appeared at the track in modern times, coated on vehicles like the Audi R8 and Aston Martin Vantage, the bold look is more frequently associated with iconic mid-century vehicles like the Ford GT40 and the Porsche 917, the latter raced by the legendary Swiss driver Jo Siffert at the 24 Hour of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971, and memorably put to screen in the 1971 film Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen.
McQueen's character in Le Mans was loosely modeled after Siffert, who drove for John Wyer Automotive Engineering at the time, a team sponsored by both Gulf Oil and Heuer. As a result, McQueen wore a tracksuit in the film branded with the Gulf Oil and Heuer logos as well as a Heuer Monaco chronograph on his wrist. It's to this image of the King of Cool – wearing the bold and square Monaco with its revolutionary movement (still relatively fresh to market after its 1969 debut) while leaning on a Porsche 917 sporting the iconic livery – that today's addition to the watches119, the TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition Calibre 11 CAW211R replica watch, pays tribute.
McQueen's character in Le Mans was loosely modeled after Siffert, who drove for John Wyer Automotive Engineering at the time, a team sponsored by both Gulf Oil and Heuer. As a result, McQueen wore a tracksuit in the film branded with the Gulf Oil and Heuer logos as well as a Heuer Monaco chronograph on his wrist. It's to this image of the King of Cool – wearing the bold and square Monaco with its revolutionary movement (still relatively fresh to market after its 1969 debut) while leaning on a Porsche 917 sporting the iconic livery – that today's addition to the watches119, the TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition Calibre 11 CAW211R replica watch, pays tribute.
TAG Heuer And Gulf Oil, A Shared History
A certain degree of drama has always been inherent in endurance racing. It's one of the reasons the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been adapted by Hollywood so often. After all, humans are only meant to go so fast, for so long, and the racers that test their durability to that degree are lauded for their resilience and the strength of their equipment. For this exact reason, no race team was more highly regarded in the late 1960s and early 1970s than John Wyer Automotive. Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Brian Redman, and Pedro Rodriguez are just a few of the legendary drivers to race under the livery (other than Siffert himself). A by-product of the success and pageantry of John Wyer Automotive, the Gulf Oil and TAG Heuer (née Heuer) branding has evolved into an intrinsic part of auto racing history. It's a commercial relationship that helped define that period in the popular imagination, which is exactly what the TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition is meant to celebrate.
Other than its noted appearance on the wrist of McQueen during Le Mans, the Monaco holds a special significance to that period of horological history as well. While its chunky square case and crown orientation on the left side of the watch are memorable enough, the original Monaco held a very noteworthy movement inside, caliber 11, one of the very first automatic chronograph movements ever made. This movement was the result of Project 99, a three-year joint venture between a consortium of four brands – Heuer-Leonidas, Breitling, Hamilton-Buren, and Dubois Dépraz. The Monaco was a completely new collection for Heuer at the time, and it holds the distinction of being one of the first square-shaped watches with a water resistant case.
The history of Gulf Oil, and its relationship with racing, is equally remarkable. The company was formed in 1901 after oil was discovered at Spindletop in Texas near the Gulf of Mexico (hence the name), and it was an innovative force in the energy business, being the first company to introduce drive-up gas stations and a pioneer in developing drilling rigs over water. The company's roots in the world of motorsport began through a personal relationship that a Gulf Oil executive had with John Wyer, which resulted in the commercial partnership between the race team and the company. Gulf was also involved with the Indianapolis 500 in the late 1930s, but it wasn't until its success at Le Mans wearing the blue and orange livery that the brand's cultural resonance in the sport was truly felt. The Gulf of today is a vastly different operation in scale and function, but it still benefits from the nostalgia fueled by the company's early prosperity.
The Gulf Oil livery left an indelible mark on almost everyone who saw it during its racing heyday, and that feeling is one most watch enthusiasts, then and now, share with the Monaco. Love it or hate it, the Monaco has always held an iconoclastic presence in traditional Swiss watch design, and the Monaco Gulf Edition pushes the look to new aesthetic heights.
The TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition Calibre 11 CAW211R
This isn't the first time that TAG Heuer has released a Monaco emblazoned with the Gulf logo and colors, but none of the previous editions were as faithful an interpretation of the original Monaco from 1969 as this watch, which was released in August of 2017. The CAW211R borrows the successful form factor of the Monaco Calibre 11 CAW211P from 2015, the most authentic revival of the original 1133B (the very first Monaco; B for blue), and subverts its classical detailing with the graphic Gulf design. It's a decision that transforms the watch's appeal and embraces the excess of the Monaco's earliest look.
This watch has an appearance nearly identical to the original Monaco, a watch defined by its slab-sided case profile, sharp angles, raised crystal, tiered pushers, horizontal hour markers, and date aperture at six o'clock. The biggest difference in function between the original Monaco and the CAW211R is the movement inside. Despite sharing a name with the original caliber 11, the contemporary movement is based off a workhorse Sellita SW-300 that has a chronograph module courtesy of Dubois Dépraz, an authentic relationship that references Project 99 from the late '60s. The difference is most apparent through the recessed square-shaped registers, which include a running seconds display at three o'clock and a 30-minute totalizer at nine o'clock, compared to the 30-minute and 12-hour counters of the original watch. There's a sapphire crystal on the caseback that allows a view of the movement and the decoration that TAG Heuer has applied, namely côtes de Genève on the branded rotor and perlage visible underneath it. Overall, the case features a satin finish with polished bevels.
The dial features the emblematic colors of the Gulf Oil livery, solid petroleum blue on the left side and light blue and orange stripes cascading down the entire right side of the dial. The distinctive Gulf color palette at use is vibrant and full of life, just like the high-speed cars that wore it. The dial includes a small Gulf Oil logo positioned above the date window at six o'clock. It also features the original Heuer shield logo compared to the modern TAG Heuer branding, a decision that reflects the unique heritage this watch is meant to honor. Finally, the red lacquered central chronograph seconds hand matches the red five-minute markers and the tips of the central hour and minute hand.
On the wrist, the Monaco wears unlike any other watch out there. Its 39mm by 39mm cushion shape and stubby lugs create an interesting dynamic on the wrist. With its tall sapphire crystal and three-part case construction, the watch has a unique and definite presence, one that is surprisingly easy to get used to when worn. The strap, which tapers substantially, helps quite a bit in this regard, thanks to its easy-to-adjust, Heuer-branded deployant buckle. The perforated design of the strap, made of blue calfskin leather, is another distinct aesthetic choice that works well with its contrast orange stitching.
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The TAG Heuer Monaco Gulf Edition Calibre 11 CAW211R is more than a bold take on an already bold watch, it's a character-filled callback to an era of significance in both watchmaking and auto racing. It's also a prime example of the effort that TAG Heuer hot sale replica watch,has undertaken with its recent vintage-influenced models, clearly visible in the contemporary Carrera and Autavia lines.
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